Image Magazine Archive Now Available in Digital Library of Georgia

Image Magazine, one of the area's first African American lifestyle magazines, has been digitized thanks to a $5,000 grant awarded to The Athens-Clarke County by the Digital Library of Georgia.

Image Magazine was published by Dr. Robert Harrison from 1977 through 1980, and it covered the social life of the local African American community. Harrison donated every issue of the magazine to the Athens-Clarke County Library's Heritage Room earlier this year as part of the library's Common Heritage project.

The library hosted digital scanning days and educational programs designed to help African American residents preserve their family histories as part of the Common Heritage program, which was funded by a National Endowment for Humanities grant. Harrison presented a lecture during the series about the historic Hiram House and was inspired to donate the magazines to support the project's objectives.

"We are grateful to Dr. Harrison for sharing this collection, and we truly appreciate the DLG for helping us make it available to everyone," said Rikki Chesley, Athens Regional Library System Head of Archives and Special Collections. "Magazines like Image provide a unique glimpse into the daily lives of Athens families. This collection is a great way for researchers to learn about our community's recent past."

The magazines are available through the Digital Library of Georgia's website at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/CollectionsA-Z/immag_search.html. To learn more about the Athens-Clarke County Library's Heritage Room, call (706) 613-3650, ext. 350. The Athens-Clarke County Library is located at 2025 Baxter Street.